When the Donaldson family established their Pegasus Bay winery in the early 1970s, they were pioneers in the New Zealand region of North Canterbury. Over the past 40 years they have evolved and got better every year, remaining a family-owned and operated business. The second generation of the family are currently at the helm, with all four of their sons in key positions within the business. Paul Donaldson is the General Manager of the winery, making use of his varied experience and expertise in business and finance. I sat down with him when he was in Melbourne recently to hear more about his background and the families endeavours in premium New Zealand wine.

I’ve only recently been introduced to the wines of Mandala in the Victorian region of the Yarra Valley, and I was thrilled to have a chance to look at the 2017 vintages of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

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Another wine from a producer new to Let’s Taste – Yarra Valley’s Mandala Wines – this time a sparkling, the Blanc de Blancs 2015. Blanc de Blancs are white wines made from white grapes, in this case 100% Chardonnay. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Wine tasted;
Mandala Blanc de Blancs 2015 – RRP $35.00

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I was thrilled to be introduced to a new producer on this edition of Let’s Taste with The Intrepid Wino. Michael Hall – originally from the United Kingdon – produces wine from fruit sourced from the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa Valley and the Eden Valley. The three white wines tasted on this edition of Let’s Taste are all from the Adelaide Hills. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

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Hard to believe, but this is actually the first recorded edition of Let’s Taste for 2018, and it happens to be at an entirely new location. My young family have just moved house (a fun exercise during vintage to say the least), and I was excited to taste some perennial favourites at the new address!

Yalumba is one of Australia’s most important wine producers, with an incredible range from iconic to approachable. The ‘Y Series’ range has always represented outstanding value, and I happily opened the range of chilled wines from the 2017 vintage. Let me know what you think in the comments below, many thanks to Yalumba for sending the samples!

There aren’t many people who call Steve Lubiana Stefano, and you merely need to spend a few minutes with him to understand why. He is one of the most affable and soft-spoken Australian vignerons you’ll find, very much a product of having grown up in the Riverland, the product of Italian migrants. In spite of his very generous and gregarious nature, he is a philosophical wine grower with a deep passion for not only biodynamic farming but the history of these practices. His imprint on the island state of Tasmania is immeasurable, and has been producing outstanding wines from the Derwent Valley for several decades.

The Pannell family is one of the most iconic in Australian wine, having not once but twice pioneered the vigneron model in Western Australia. After being one of the first commercial wine producers in the now legendary and substantial Margaret River region (Moss Wood), they had a complete shift East to the still somewhat unexplored Pemberton region, where they established Picardy Wines. Here they focused on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and invited their son Dan to be an important part of the future. With such an incredible wine pedigree and a passion for Burgundy, it’s easy to understand why Dan is regarded as one of the most incredible and honest winemakers in the state.

The third and final in another series of Let’s Taste d’Arenberg wines, this time looking at two chardonnays from the 2016 vintage. McLaren Vale, although considered a warmer climate ideal for red varieties, still has a lot of chardonnay, as there are cooler parts of the region suited to white varieties. The Adelaide Hills is possibly considered the best region in South Australia for chardonnay, so it makes sense they should use fruit from here. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!

When Marie Doyard says that “Champagne is running through her blood”, she’s not kidding. Not only was she born in Reims and raised in the region, but her great-grandfather Maurice Doyard was one of the founders of the Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins de Champagne (C.I.V.C.) during World War II. Her parents brought the Jacquart and Doyard estates together – all based in the Côte des Blancs – and when she took over in 2004 she had some dynamic ideas of how to take Champagne Andre Jacquart into the new millennium. On a recent visit to Melbourne I was able to find out more about her journey and about grower-champagne.

Having worked in the Yarra Valley and spent plenty of time driving around it, I’m amazed at how geographically large and diverse it is. Mac Forbes has been one of the most important wine producers that has attempted to show how different each part of the region can be. He does this through the medium of grape variety, having released a number of sub-regional wines every vintage since 2004. I was thrilled to sit down with him and hear more about his journey and what led him to take such a serious risk in choosing this approach.

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The Vincast

The Vincast - a Wine Podcast with The Intrepid Wino

Wine - Wine People - Wine Culture

A podcast about wine, wine culture and wine people. Every week a different guest from the wine industry joins host The Intrepid Wino (aka James Scarcebrook) for a casual chat about the world of wine.

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